Force Field: On History and Theory of International Law

Abstract

»History« and »theory« have increasingly appeared together in the vocabulary of international law. Although international lawyers have traditionally looked to the past in their search for authority, a more critical approach has emerged in the last three decades, proposing not only a close relationship between history and theory, but embracing the aims and methods involved in the tasks of historians and theorists. Three tensions that emerge from this critical approach are discussed in terms of their potentials and challenges: local /global, ideas / practice, and micro / macro. The article concludes that the engagement between history and theory must continue and deepen.